Chapter Text
Author's Note: After completion of A Study in a Missing Will and noting how my existing Dimension Four stories have a lot of room to improve, specifically on the procedural, realism (even with the presence of the supernatural and magic) and pacing, I have since concluded that these Dimension Four stories will be better served with a remastering, especially with what I have in store for imagining the world in this reality.
As part of the remastering, there will be an overhaul in the existing stories with some storyline changes, beginning with The Secret of the School Library.
The first step will see this entry, which functions as an origin story for Garfield Wu, renamed as A Tick of the Missing Clock.
Second step will see more pacing and story build up for the hunt for a missing will, putting the story in line with A Study in a Missing Will, while providing a depiction of Garfield Wu that is different than as depicted in Dimension Seven.
And third will involve changes to Garfield's surname from Wu to Ngôo, on account of the setting of Dimension Four that is way different than the real world.
Specifically, in this alternate version of Taiwan, not only is Hokkien (閩南語) the dominant language, it is also one of the main official languages alongside Hakka (客家語), the indigenous languages and Japanese.
Considering that Garfield has Hokkien roots, it is more realistic in-universe for Garfield's surname to be spelled as Ngôo , as " Ngôo " is the Hokkien spelling and pronunciation of the surname 吳, which is spelled and pronounced as "Wu" in Mandarin and "Ng" in both Hakka and Cantonese.
On the same token, expect the English spelling of Taiwanese place names to utilize the Hokkien, Hakka, indigenous and Japanese spellings in place of the Mandarin ones in real-life.
For example, the southern city of Kaohsiung (高雄 ) will be known as Takao, which is derived from the indigenous name Takaw or Takau and subsequently adapted by Hokkien settlers along with the name of 打狗, which is pronounced as Takao in Hokkien. Takao is also the exact Japanese pronunciation of the characters 高雄, hence how 打狗 became 高雄.
Another example is that the town of Puli (埔里), located in the geographic centre of Taiwan, will be known as Purisia, which is an indigenous name of the area the town is located at.
As with all entries of the Garfield Stephenson Ngôo series, his namesake is the title character of the comic strip Garfield.
Therefore, as a disclaimer, the Garfield featured in these stories is Garfield Stephenson Ngôo , NOT Garfield the cat from the comic strip of the same name.
Furthermore, in between 1969 and 1991, the timeline of Dimension Four floats in that every person physically ages a year over the course of two years. Therefore, after hitting 16 years of age in 1969, Garfield will turn 17 in 1971. 18 in 1973, and so on.
One more note is that this story, like A Study in a Missing Will, is based on the first Nancy Drew story The Secret of the Old Clock.
In addition, this origin story for Garfield Stephenson Ngôo is also canon for Dimension Eight.
Prologue
April 19, 1962
Location: Purisia Town, Ramtau Prefecture, Taiwan (臺灣南投縣埔里町)
The night sky was mostly calm with some breezes as a classical music concert gets underway at the auditorium of Auran Secondary School (烏牛欄中學), a concert in which the students enrolled in the neighbouring Auran Elementary School's (烏牛欄小學) after-school music classes perform a lineup of classical music pieces as part of the night's concert program.
Among the students enrolled in the violin section of the after-school music classes is Garfield Stephenson Kóng-khìng Ngôo (吳廣慶), who at 8 years old is currently enrolled in Grade 3 at the elementary school and is also almost a year into his violin lessons.
Already a quick study in the violin while continuing his piano lessons, it wasn't long before Garfield began practicing intermediate violin pieces. In fact, he is presently on the stage with five other musicians as they perform Pachelbel's D Major Canon and Gigue with him as the second violin.
The audience were deeply engaged as Garfield and his classmates performed the gigue that followed the canon, and when they finished, the sextet were greeted by a large applause.
After their bows, the sextet proceeded to exit the stage while the presenter introduced the next act in the program, which will be the last before the fifteen-minute intermission.
When Garfield finished putting his violin back in its case and made his way to his seat, he was greeted with pats in the back from his parents Gordon and Melissa and nods from his younger brother David and sisters Emma and Diana.
"演奏的真誠好!" (演奏的非常好!) (Great performance!) Melissa praised quietly.
"多謝，媽媽。" (Thanks, Mom.) Garfield nodded as he took his seat.
As Garfield settled into his seat, which was right by the aisle, the pianist and tenor were already on the stage, prompting him to join the rest of the audience in applauding.
Once the applause died down, the pianist took her seat at the piano while the tenor remained in position by the piano.
With a nod from the tenor, the pianist placed her hands on the keyboard of the piano and began playing the rapidly galloping introductory notes to Schubert's lied Erlkönig.
As the tenor began to narrate about the late night horse ride, David suddenly stood up with his hands by his crouch, prompting his mother to turn towards him and asked, "廣輝，按怎矣?" (廣輝，怎麼了?) (What is it, Kóng-hui?)
"我欠用去便所。" (我需要去上洗手間。) (I need to go to the washroom.) David responded quietly.
Although appearing irritated, his father Gordon nodded at Garfield and whispered, "你欠用去便所無，廣慶?" (你需要去上洗手間嗎，廣慶?) (Do you need to go use the washroom, Kóng-khìng?)
Garfield shook his head as he stood up. "我毋永，毋過我也是𤆬細的去便所矣。" (我不用，但我還是帶弟弟去洗手間好了。) (No, though I will still take David to the washroom anyways.)
Gordon nodded, motioning the brothers to go.
Outside the auditorium, there were a few other students and parents at the hallway and as the brothers made their way to the closest washroom, Garfield glanced around the nearby window.
真奇[怪]。 (That's odd.) Garfield thought to himself. 雺按怎入來室內矣? (霧怎模進來到室內的?) (How did the fog end up inside?)
He shrugged those thoughts off as he motioned David to go into the washroom while he waits outside. As his brother walked into the washroom, though, Garfield could've sworn that he felt something flew by him as the tenor sang, "'Siehst, Vater, du den Erlkönig nicht? Den Erlenkönig mit Kron' und Schweif?' " (Father, do you not see the Erlking? The Erlking with crown and tail?)
Turning around, all Garfield saw were streaks of fog and a dark brown cat walking by while the tenor sang in a heavier pitch, "'Mein Sohn, es ist ein Nebelstreif."" (My son, it is a streak of fog.)
合該只是淹想像矣。(應該只是我的想像力吧。) (Must be my imagination.) Garfield blinked as he thought to himself, though the hallway certainly looked gloomier than usual in spite of the light and the other people.
Sure enough, when the cat approached one of the other boys waiting outside, the shape of the fog streak began to morph into something resembling an evil spirit with a crown, and that fog streak was surrounding the particular boy as the tenor inside sang, " 'Du liebes Kind, komm, geh mit mir! Gar schöne Spiele spiel' ich mit dir; Manch' bunte Blumen sind an dem Strand, Meine Mutter hat manch gülden Gewand.' " (You dear child, come, go with me! Very lovely games I'll play with you; Some colorful flowers are on the beach, My mother has some golden robes.)
The boy seemed intrigued by the cat in front of him and kneeled down to pet it, clearly oblivious to the gloomy streaks of fog surrounding him and the cat.
Garfield was starting to have second thoughts about the sight in front of him being the product of his imagination, for he stepped towards the boy and said, "我萬萬袂曉..." (我絕對不會...) (I would definitely not...)
Before he could finish, the boy touched the cat and suddenly, his hand became stuck to the cat as a faint light blue glow surrounded it, accompanied by a hideous shriek.
Then, right in front of Garfield's eyes, a faint green streak emerged from the boy's body and was subsequently consumed by the streak of fog.
As soon as the fog consumed what appeared to be the boy's spirit, the boy crumpled to the floor and the cat made its way to another boy, who had saw the earlier drama unfold like Garfield did, while the tenor sang on stage, "'Willst, feiner Knabe, du mit mir gehn? Meine Töchter sollen dich warten schön; Meine Töchter führen den nächtlichen Reihn, Und wiegen und tanzen und singen dich ein, Sie wiegen und tanzen und singen dich ein.' " ("Do you, fine boy, want to go with me? My daughters shall wait on you finely; My daughters lead the nightly dance, And rock and dance and sing you to sleep, They rock and dance and sing you to sleep.")
This second boy ran off to his mother, who was standing nearby, as Garfield became horrified to see the streaks of fog growing in size.
"'Mein Vater, mein Vater, und siehst du nicht dort Erlkönigs Töchter am düstern Ort?' " ("My father, my father, and don't you see there Erlking's daughters in the gloomy place?") The tenor sang as the additional streaks of fog began to morph into several more hideous-looking spirits.
At the sight of the streaks of fog about to engulf the second boy, Garfield shouted, "趕緊走矣，是惡...!" (快跑啊。是惡...!) (Run! It's an evil...!)
Before the second boy and his mother could heed Garfield's warning, the streaks of fog suddenly engulfed the former when the cat made contact to him, leading to the same shriek to holler out.
This time, it would seem that whatever was possessing the cat was not pleased by Garfield's warning, for it promptly turned towards him upon taking the second boy and his mother's spirits, to the horror of a few adults and children who were standing nearby.
At the sight of the cat running towards Garfield, one of the adults shouted at him, "趕緊走矣，囡仔人!" (快跑啊，小孩子!) (Run, child!)
Garfield tried to run, but the thick fog swiftly engulfed him as the tenor sang, "'Ich liebe dich, mich reizt deine schöne Gestalt; Und bist du nicht willig, so brauch' ich Gewalt.' " ("I love you, your beautiful form excites me; And if you're not willing, then I will use force.")
In that split second of getting engulfed by the thick fog, the first thing Garfield noticed was the demonic blue glow radiating from the cat's eyes. The second was that the streaks of fog has morphed into a terrifying demonic face and was glaring back at him in pure hatred.
With a scowl, the demonic fog became glowing blue and Garfield caught of glimpse of the cat collapsing onto the floor.
Its eyes radiating in predatorily, the demonic fog opened its mouth and Garfield instinctively squeezed his eyes shut and placed both hands onto the fog's nose before involuntarily shouting out, "Gnîht!"
At that exact moment, all of the lights that were on in the vicinity of the area shut off, including in the auditorium, which prompted a few gasps as the pianist hit the final two notes.
The darkness was short-lived, for everyone in the area were greeted by a blinding flash of light with Garfield's voice accompanying it as he shouted, "Gnîht!"
Recognizing their eldest son's voice, Gordon and Melissa exchanged bewildered looks with one another, and the minute the lights returned, they promptly grabbed Emma and Diana and hurried out of the auditorium.
It would seem that many in the audience had the same thought, for a crowd of parents and students swiftly followed suit in getting out of their seats and made their way out of the auditorium.
And when they arrived at the hallway, they saw a few parents, teachers and students looking towards a source of light in amazement.
"今仔發生啥代矣?" (剛剛發生什麼事啊?) (What just happened?) Gordon was the first to ask as they approached one of the teachers at the hallway.
The teacher only pointed towards the source of light as she responded, "影。" (看。) (Look.)
When Gordon, Melissa and their daughters turned towards the source, they were almost stunned speechless at the sight unfolding in front of them.
Concurrently, Garfield opened one eye, then he widened both eyes in surprise.
The same demonic face was still staring back at him, but no longer was the hatred and predatory look present in its eyes. Instead, pain and bewilderment crossed its face as it began to bloat and glow red.
Seemingly understanding what is happening in front of him, Garfield glanced around, seeing all the adults and kids looking at him, including his brother David, who had just finished relieving himself in the washroom and had stepped out in time to witness the extraordinary sight.
Turning back towards the demonic fog, Garfield asked, "你是消化不良矣?" (Indigestion?)
When the face merely grunted back in pain, Garfield prepared his left leg as he said, "檢采遮會協助恁消化矣。" (或許這會幫助你的消化的。) (Perhaps this will help with your digestion.)
Without wasting another minute, Garfield swiftly delivered a kick right into the fog's chin, whose height would otherwise correspond to that of a man's stomach, which created another blinding flash of light.
After the light dissipated, Garfield opened his eyes and was surprised to see a lot more people around with the fog cleared up. Among the people were the two boys and the mother whose spirits the demonic fog had devoured earlier.
It was evident that the extra people whose spirits were devoured by the demonic fog were still wounded up by the ordeal, as they all had their hands on their foreheads.
Also present were the many spirits of the recently-deceased that the demonic fog had devoured, and as Garfield looked closer, he was surprised to recognize his recently-passed paternal grandfather as one of the spirits.
"阿公?" (Grandpa?) Garfield asked.
His grandfather turned towards him and smiled warmly, then he turned around and saw Gordon, who nodded and bowed at him slightly.
As he watched his father interact with his grandfather, Garfield turned around and saw the demonic fog from earlier has morphed into a small demon and in the process of being handcuffed by a pair of guardians, one with the head of an ox and the other with the face of a horse.
"你是他人叫為'德式魔王'的小囝矣?" (你是他人稱呼為'得勢魔王'的小子吧?) (You're the fella they call the 'Erlkönig'?) The guardian with the face of a horse demanded.
The little demon only scowled in response as the guardian with the head of an ox said, "阮有以綁票和危害眾人的罪名共你收押的通緝令。" (我們有以綁票和危害眾人的罪名把你逮捕的通緝令。) (We have a warrant for your arrest on charges of abduction and endangerment of mortals.)
Garfield raised an eyebrow as the two guardians read the demon its rights, then they turned towards him.
"你是征服伊的囡仔人矣?" (你是征服他的小朋友嗎?) (You the kid that subdued it?) The guardian with the head of an ox asked.
Garfield gulped before he nodded slowly. "我毋知我是怎樣達到矣。是無張持發生矣。" (我不知道我是如何達到的。是意外發生的。) (I don't really know how I did it. It just came out of the blue.)
There was silence from the two guardians as they exchanged looks with one another, then they turned towards the spirit of Garfield's grandfather, who closed his eyes and slowly nodded.
Understanding the meaning behind the grandfather's nod, the guardian with the face of a horse turned towards Garfield and said, "就講是恁阿公透過恁阿嬤和阿爹留共你的禮物矣。" (就說是你的祖父透過你的祖母和爸爸留給你的禮物。) (Consider this a gift left to you by your grandfather through your grandmother and father.)
Garfield raised an eyebrow before he turned towards his father and grandfather, who both nodded back at him in confirmation of what the guardian had said.
As the reality of what just occurred sank in, Garfield exhaled as everyone looked at him. Among the crowd looking at him is a 14-year old Japanese exchange student, who was looking at him with a particularly interested look in her eyes.
Chapter 1: Arriving at school
September 3, 1968
Location: Ottawa, Canadian Capital Territory, Canada
Six years later, the now-fifteen year-old Garfield Ngôo was crossing the Bronson Avenue Bridge over the Rideau Canal at 8:07, on his way to his first day of school at Glebe Collegiate Institute.
In the years following the night he discovered the special gift he had received from his grandparents, a lot of changes has inserted themselves into Garfield's life.
Before getting on with how he came to be crossing the Bronson Avenue Bridge on his way to his first day of school at Glebe Collegiate Institute in Ottawa, it is necessary to dive into his background.
Born Garfield Stephenson Kóng-khìng Ngôo (吳廣慶) on June 23, 1953 in the Civic Hospital in Ottawa, he was the oldest of four siblings, with David following two years later on December 15, 1955, followed by Diana and Emma ten months afterwards on October 7, 1956.
Their parents were Gordon Su-guân Ngôo (吳舒源) of Pakmn̂g Township (北門村) in Tailam Prefecture (臺南縣) and Melissa Yi-yuè (Gi-gue̍h) Lee (李宜月) of Qūdònɡ Town (曲硐鎮) in Yongping County (永平縣) of Yunnan Province (雲南省) in China.
At the time of Garfield's birth, Gordon was completing his doctorate studies in Ottawa and working as a graduate teaching and research assistant.
When Garfield was six in 1959, the family moved back to Taiwan as Gordon was offered a teaching position at a then-new international university in Purisa (埔里).
The family settled down in the small town, where Garfield spent the first half of his childhood, during which he began attending school and started taking up violin lessons while continuing his piano lessons.
Shortly after Garfield turned nine in 1962, the family moved to Taihuku (臺北) when Gordon got a job transfer, which saw him teaching law and political science in the university he attended and graduated from years ago before taking an international exchange opportunity to Canada in 1947.
It was that international exchange that introduced Gordon to Canada and he made several friends, including a middle-aged couple who will eventually witness Garfield's birth in 1953.
That middle-aged couple were Garfield Thompson and Arlene Kelly, who had no children of their own but had took in many university students in the past, including Gordon, who they came to view as a son of their own.
The English-born Garfield Thompson, who eventually became Garfield Ngôo's namesake and adoptive grandfather, worked as a locomotive engineer for the Canadian Pacific Railway and was frequently out of town, while Arlene Kelly worked as a secretary in the Canadian Army headquarters.
In his stay with the Thompsons, Gordon became familiar with Ottawa and acquainted with the Thompsons' family and relatives, and it was the generosity of the Thompsons that contributed to his decision to name his first-born son after Garfield Thompson.
Over the course of his growing up in Taiwan, Garfield became fluent in Taiwanese Hokkien, Hakka and Japanese, in addition to the brief level of English introduced to him during kindergarten and the English classes in school.
Shortly after Garfield graduated from elementary school in 1965, a week after turning twelve years old, Gordon received an offer to take part in a two-year exchange to Canada, which will see him teaching international relations at the University of British Columbia during those two years.
After Gordon and Melissa had several in-depth discussions about the offer, the family decided to move back to Canada.
Arriving in late-August, the family decided to settle in a small apartment in Metrotown, one of the neighbourhoods of Burnaby.
As the family settled in Burnaby, Garfield and his siblings were enrolled in the nearby public schools.
It was during that time that Garfield also joined the Royal Canadian Air Cadets, a youth organization that promotes interest in aviation and joining the Royal Canadian Air Force.
Having had made a lot of friends in school, Garfield naturally felt sad about leaving them when his father's exchange term ended in the early summer of 1967, which was the year of the centennial of Canadian Confederation.
A series of turbulent events in the East Asia region contributed to Gordon deciding that the family should move back to Ottawa after further discussions while he returns to his work in Taiwan.
Boarding the Montreal-bound Canadian at Vancouver's Waterfront Station on June 25, 1967, the family had managed to pack their luggage and informed the Thompsons of their return in the days leading up to the four-day train journey.
Arriving at Ottawa Union Station on June 29, 1967, Garfield Thompson picked the family up and invited them to stay at their place in the interim while Gordon and Melissa searched for an apartment to rent.
On the topic of the family's train ride from Vancouver to Ottawa, it is worth mentioning that Garfield has a huge passion in trains and anything transportation-related.
As a young boy, he will often drag his parents to the nearby streetcar terminal to watch the streetcars and buses go by. His parents will also take him to downtown at times so he can watch the trains pulling in and out of Union Station and he enjoyed watching airplanes taking off, landing and taxiing during air trips when waiting for their flights at the airports.
Most of his toys were buses, tractor trailers and trains, and his drawings typically consists of buses, trams and trains, and he also enjoyed collected model trains, mainly in the N-scale.
He also had the pleasure of taking a ride on the then-brand new Shinkansen in Japan when he accompanied his father to a conference in Tokyo in the winter of 1965, and as a souvenir, he bought a N-scale model of the 12-car bullet train.
In addition to transportation, Garfield came to develop an interest in detective stories.
Particularly, he had a collection of Sherlock Holmes and Arsène Lupin stories that he would read from time to time in his downtime, whenever he is not drawing vehicles or practicing the piano and violin.
As well, Garfield was a fast learner in martial arts, as evident by his frequent attendance of martial arts clubs after school during his youth, on top of looking up to the likes of Yip Man and Bruce Lee.
In enhancing his moves, he frequently practices in the front yard, and more often than not, he would engage in practice matches with his brother David, who likewise shared his passion for martial arts.
It was with Garfield's continued passion for martial arts that also contributed to the family renting a small house in the Alta Vista neighbourhood, which has a backyard for Garfield to continue to practice.
Enrolled in Hillcrest High School for the 1967-1968 school year, Garfield's transfer to an Ottawa-based Royal Canadian Air Cadet squadron from his old squadron in Burnaby was also approved with the new squadron based in RCAF Station Uplands, located in Gloucester South near the new Ottawa Uplands Airport.
The family only lived in the Alta Vista neighbourhood for year, for in the spring of 1968, Melissa, who by then was now working in the Ogilvy's department store branch in the nearby Billings Bridge Plaza and with support from remittances Gordon has sent from Taiwan, bought a house in Old Ottawa South just a few blocks from where the Thompsons lived.
As a result of the home purchase, the family moved back to Old Ottawa South in the summer and the kids subsequently transferred schools.
Which brings back to how Garfield found himself walking northbound along Bronson Avenue at 8:07 in the morning, about to cross the bridge over the Rideau Canal, en route to Glebe Collegiate Institute, where he had transferred to.
In spite of having had transferred schools in less than a year, Garfield was nevertheless feeling anxious as he walked along Bronson Avenue. Watching a streetcar speeding by, he was thinking what kind of interesting people will he meet and befriend in Glebe.
Those thoughts continued to cloud his mind as the school building slowly came into view.
Please read and review!